Drought

Drought occurs when a region receives no or less than the average amount of rainfall leading to water shortage, failure of crops and disruption of normal activities. Various factors such as global warming, deforestation and construction of buildings have given rise to drought.

Types of Droughts

While some areas are marked by complete absence of rain for a long period of time, others receive less than the average amount of precipitation, yet others might face drought for some part of the year – So the severity and type of drought varies from place to place and from time to time. Here is a look at the different types of droughts:

Meteorological Drought

When there is a reduction in rainfall in a region for a particular period – it can be for few days, months, seasons or year – it is said to be hit by meteorological drought. In India an area is said to be hit by meteorological drought when the annual rainfall is 75% less than the average rainfall.

Hydrological Drought

This is basically associated with the reduction in water. Hydrological droughts are often a result of two successive meteorological droughts. These are divided into two categories:

Surface Water Drought

Ground Water Drought

Soil Moisture Drought

As the name suggests, this situation involves inadequate soil moisture that hinders crop growth. This is an outcome of meteorological drought as it leads to lower water supply to soil and greater water loss due to evaporation.

Agricultural Drought

When the meteorological or hydrological droughts lead to negative impacts on the crop yield in a region, it is said to be hit by agricultural drought.

Famine

This is said to be the most severe drought situation. People in such regions do not get any access to food and there is mass starvation and devastation. The government needs to intervene in such a situation and food is supplied to these places from other places.

Socio-Economic Drought

This situation occurs when there is a decrease in the availability of food and loss of income due to the failure of crop and the social security and access to food for the people in such areas is at risk.

Conclusion

Drought is a difficult situation to deal with especially if the severity is high. Several people are affected due to drought each year. While the occurrence of drought is a natural phenomenon, we can certainly reduce the human activities that lead to such a situation. Government must also come up with effective measures to deal with its after effects.